Grog

iTrader: (5)

A few months ago I sat in the back of my buddy's explorer. He had two 15'' competition subs and since I heard it and "felt" it, I've wanted a little more oomph in my own car.

Just want your guys' opinions on how you think something like this would look in the trunk of an 8:

Sub:
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...8VS12L72-.html

Amp:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Kicker-ZX1000-1-...item483c69f00d

It seems like a fantastic deal, but I really want to hear what you guys think, in case there's a better route for me to take. I've heard nothing but good things about this particular sub, and having it come with a ported enclosure saves me a lot of hassle to get one custom made.

A guess the main question for me is whether it's worth it to buy this sub with the ported box coming with it, or if I should buy the sub and have the box custom made. If it's ported, wouldn't it be the same size anyway? Forgive me since I don't know too much about how ported enclosures work.

You can probably tell by now that I'm not looking to spend more than 500-ish bucks. I won't be getting a head unit or anything fancy; just a nice amp and a nice sub. Could I get something better than this?

soya

iTrader: (3)

Well the first problem is that sub box won't fit in the trunk of an rx8.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

My thoughts exactly. Even if the box height is less than the available height in the trunk, I doubt you'll be able to get it through the trunk opening.

But on a side note, great choice on equipment. I used to deal Kicker's entire line up. That box friggin BANGS!

Grog

iTrader: (5)

I haven't actually measured yet but I'm almost positive it will fit into the trunk itself. Never thought about the actual "getting it in" part, though...

Well ****, now I'm annoyed. There's got to be a way to make this fit (unless it already does fit); can't the rear seats fold upwards? coulda swore I saw a picture of some guy with hockey sticks in his trunk with his rear seats folded up.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

You swore wrong. lol

Seats don't fold in any way. But people remove them all the time. Not that hard really. Bottoms just pull right out and the backs have a couple bolts each. However there is still some plastic paneling and metal cross-bracing behind that. Both of which can be dis/re-assembled though. Might have to pop the rear speaker covers out of place to see the bolts. Can't remember. I do recall thinking that this method doesn't really give you much extra room to squeeze anything in the trunk. It seemed to me the size was about the same, it was just shaped "differently" than the trunk opening. It might work.

Grog

iTrader: (5)

Well, there is one other option that I have that I haven't really thought about:

A guy that I work with wants to get rid of his sub; he just bought a new car and doesn't want to run the sub in it. He says it's a 15'' "Competition". There's a few different "Competition" subs so I won't really know exactly what kind it is until I see it in person, but the guy is pretty knowledgeable in car audio so I'm confident that it's a quality sub. He also only wants $100 for it, so I'm extremely tempted.

Only thing holding me back is the size. I cannot mount a 15'' sub vertically in my trunk. The guy said that it would be best to mount it flat, with the port facing upwards. I'm sure that this can be done, but can it look good?

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

If your friend was into car audio, he would have told you the brand name up front. Brand reputation means everything in car audio. It can EASILY separate a $20 15" from a $200 15". The only reason I can think of he may not have mentioned it is because he has a 15" Kicker Comp. You were probably already discussing Kicker and he threw it out there. If so, the Kicker Comp line is pretty much their bottom end. Comp --->CompVR--->L5-->L7-->SoloX. $100 is a rip. The comp is solid black with yellow markings on the dustcap and yellow stitching holding the surround to the cone. Just fyi if he shows it to you.

Can YOU make it look good? Probably not. Just from the little you've told us I can at least ballpark your experience with building enclosures. On top of that, the RX8 is a bitch to build for. On top of THAT, you want a vented enclosure for a 15" which adds another degree of difficulty. I wouldn't even attempt it if I were you. I honestly believe you'd be biting off more than you can possibly chew. When it comes to the 8, stick with the prefab boxes unless you're making a basic rectangular sealed enclosure.

Grog

iTrader: (5)

Oh yeah, I should've mentioned that I had planned to have all custom work done by a reputable shop, as I have ZERO experience in any of this. This is my first time even purchasing audio equipment outside of headphones for my ipod lol.

I'll probably get him to show the sub to me some time this week. It's either going to be a badass sub or a piece of **** ebay knockoff. I still think the L7 combo that I had planned would've been perfect... I could always buy the L7 sub alone and have a custom box made, I guess.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

http://www.kicker.com/L7_subboxes

Find some cardboard around the house and make a cheesy box the dimensions of the L7 box. See if it fits. If not, you know they make a 10" version too right?

I think that box is your best bet. The damn thing bangs hard, is probably your all around cheapest bet AND would be the easiest solution. No dropping the car off for two days and hoping they do good work.

Grog

iTrader: (5)

Meh I dunno, I broke out the measuring tape and 16'' tall just seems like it won't fit. It MIGHT just BARELY fit but I'm not sure, need to find some cardboard later on and find out.

Not sure if I want the 10'' version since it's pretty expensive for one 10'' sub. I can get two Kicker CVR 10''s for like $140 and one L7 is $200. Could you recommend any other subs that would definitely fit that are in the ~$300 range?

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Ported? No.

Sealed? Yep.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Custom-MAZDA-RX8...#ht_4516wt_905

Then pick whatever 12"s and amp you want. The CVRs are decent. That's what I run. I've used the Alpine Type-R too. Outstanding sub. Maybe a bit better IMO.

And now the install is so simple, you could probably knock it out yourself.

Grog

iTrader: (5)

I checked out the Alpine Type R's and I could definitely see two of those sitting in my trunk. They seem like quality subs and they've gotten pretty good reviews. What did you think of them? The L7 in the ported box would've given me more bass than I need; how would two of these Alpines compare to that one L7? Would the 1000.1 Kicker amp that I had previously looked into be enough to power these two subs?

Overall it sounds like a great alternative. It would be a little bit more expensive (Mainly because of the fancy box for the subs/amp), but it would definitely look nicer and maybe it'll even sound nicer.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

I'm sure it'll be plenty of bump. The Type-R in the sealed box should sound pretty darn clean too. The Kicker will be plenty of power to push them. But why not get the matching Alpine amp? Same price. Same power.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ALPINE-MRP-M1000...ht_3719wt_1150

Grog

iTrader: (5)

The Kicker amp looks cooler...

My buddy showed my his sub and I'm definitely not going with it. It's a generic sub called "American Bass XD". It RETAILS for $110 and he's asking for $100; it's definitely not worth going through the trouble of having a custom box made to fit it, either.

Chances are I'll be going with the dual Alpine Type R + Kicker combo. Thanks for the help, firebirdude.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

haha It's your call!
I told you. If he was into car audio, he would have known everything right up front. I know all the model numbers of every piece of equipment I've ever owned. I would take this as an opportunity to never trust him on anything car audio related.

xShinka666x

You might want to look at the RE Audio SE-X series subs too http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...o+SEX12D4.html running off a Kicker 1000.1 since it will put out a little more than rated they would sound great

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Re makes great stuff too, but the Type-R is best suited for small enclosure applications. Model the two subwoofers up for yourself. The SE-X requires a bit more space for the same low frequency extension and overall output.
Here's a great price
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Pair-Alpine-SW...ht_3467wt_1150

Mason11

Firebirddude is right about the alpine type r's being very clean. i had two of these in a custom box and a kicker 750.1 amp. This was plenty enough power to suit anyones needs. The type r's are a very reliable sub also i have had mine for over 1 1/2 years now and have the amp dropped to 2 ohms and i am very pleased about the performance of these subs. I would try and stay away from alpine amps also because they tend to overheat in the trunk of the car very fast. i have experienced with 2 types of alpine amps and both overheat. the kicker amp was my last one and it did not overheat at all.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Alpine-SWR-1223D...ht_3443wt_1150

http://cgi.ebay.com/KICKER-ZX750-1-M...ht_1691wt_1139

Grog

iTrader: (5)

On last thing: Wires?

I'm looking around at some of the "installation kits" on Sonic Electronix so I can have all of the wires that I would need for a shop to install everything. I obvisouly want good-quality stuff but I'm seeing kits ranging from 20 bucks all the way up to 80 bucks. What's good and what's bad? I was looking at at this Kicker 12 gauge speaker wire and that alone is $25, or is that overkill?

Just looking to get an idea on how much I should be spending, or what I should be getting.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Yes.

http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDe...prodID=KOL-AK4